Computer Help/Advice

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Computer Help/Advice

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Gary Grigsby's War in the West >> Computer Help/Advice

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Computer Help/Advice - 7/23/2016 5:57:35 PM

Devonport

Posts: 167
Joined: 4/1/2010
Status: offline

I am considering replacing my all-in-one PC, partly because I am fed up with Windows 10. My main uses apart from e-mail and photos, are games like WITW and using the PC as a second TV.

So, I could just get a better and bigger all-in-one PC with Windows, but I am considering a switch to Apple imac. Big problem for me is access to WITW and WITE2, which is non-negotiable.

Has anyone any experience of running Windows on an imac to allow the use of PC only games? Does it work? Is it easy (I am extremely ignorant when it comes to how computers work)? Are there drawbacks?

Alternatively, is there any possibility that WITW and WITE2 will be available in a format that can be directly accessed from an imac without the need for having two operating systems?

Any help or suggestions would be welcome, but please remember my lack of computer knowledge. Thanks.

David

PS Hope this is the right place to post.

Post #: 1

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/23/2016 6:11:02 PM

sanderz

Posts: 862
Joined: 1/8/2009
From: Devon, England
Status: offline

i can't answer your questions but am curious why you are "fed up with win 10" - the games you mention run well in win 10

is it performance problems or just win 10 in general?

if its performance then to me the easiest answer is just to get a new (decent) PC

(in reply to Devonport)

Post #: 2

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/23/2016 6:15:57 PM

Devonport

Posts: 167
Joined: 4/1/2010
Status: offline

It's performance issues (not in running WITW, but in other uses). Seems to be one problem after another, and as I am not that savvy I want a computer that will start and run without tantrums.

(in reply to sanderz)

Post #: 3

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/23/2016 8:13:19 PM

sanderz

Posts: 862
Joined: 1/8/2009
From: Devon, England
Status: offline

if you "upgraded" from win 7 that may be the problem - clean installs seem to work much better, i've had zero problems with win 10

if your data is backed up you could try a fresh install of win10 before spending money on a new PC (or a iMAC which i think are even more expensive)

or if you do buy a decent new PC you should (in theory) no longer have problems

(in reply to Devonport)

Post #: 4

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/24/2016 6:53:05 AM

Devonport

Posts: 167
Joined: 4/1/2010
Status: offline

It seems that no-one has any experience of running Windows on a Mac? I assumed it was not unusual.

Has anyone a view on future availability of games on Apple?

(in reply to sanderz)

Post #: 5

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/24/2016 10:01:04 PM

bomccarthy

Posts: 414
Joined: 9/6/2013
From: L.A.
Status: offline

I've been running Windows 7 on an iMac for more than 6 years without any problems. I use Bootcamp, so I can't run Windows and OS X at the same time, but I only use Windows for playing WitW, WitP:AE, and SPWaW, so that's no burden. I don't know if there would be any issues with running Windows 10 through Bootcamp, but I have no plans to upgrade, since AE and SPWaW could have issues on Windows 10.

I'm no tech person, so I just followed the given instructions for installing Windows and the installation went without a hitch.

(in reply to Devonport)

Post #: 6

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/25/2016 9:25:18 PM

RealChuckB

Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline

Hi - another Mac user that plays Windows games on a Mac. Like bomccarthy, I use Bootcamp, which works very well for me:

It basically creates another bootable instance on your Mac, which means you will have to shut down Mac OS and boot into Windows every time you play. I have multiple Bootcamp installations on Macbook Airs and they came with SSD (not HDs), so booting is very fast (actually, Mac OS boots in less than 10 secs on my Macbook). You'll need a full version of Windows (I have used it with Windows 7 and Windows 10 without any problems). Setting it up is pretty straightforward, the Mac guides you through the process, installs the correct drivers for your Mac and hardware setup, such as keyboards and mice.

You then have both operating systems on your Mac hardware that you can switch between. Neither system gets into the other system's way, so performance is good (of course, it depends on the Mac hardware you have). Friends of mine have similar setups and I have never heard anything negative so far.

There is another way, which is generally called "virtualization" (that I have not tried myself): there is software from different vendors that allow you to run Windows on top of your Mac OS. That means you do NOT have to shut down and boot into the other operating system but it would basically one or more Windows "windows" on your Mac OS and you can run more or less any Windows app in that environment. You still need a full version of Windows for this, plus the software. The most well-known one comes from Parallels: http://www.parallels.com/ and I believe there is one from VMware, too.
I have never tried it because I believe the Bootcamp solution is better, especially for games: when running one complex OS on top of another one, there will be issues and performance is certainly not as good as running the OS "solo" and performance is key for games. I don't mind re-booting the computer and prefer the cleaner setup of Bootcamp but the virtualization has an advantage, if you need to transfer data directly between the Windows and Mac OS application, which is not necessary for games.
There is also a free open-source app called Wine https://www.winehq.org/ that allows you to run Windows on other operating systems but I have no experience with that.

Hope this help!

P.S. One important note - whatever you do, when running Windows games you'll have to deal with Windows. If your problem is with Windows, none of the above will (generally) solve the issue for you. Your only way around Windows would be to run games on Mac OS natively, which will not work well, as only around 5% (rough estimate) of the wargames are available for Macs

< Message edited by Chuck B. -- 7/25/2016 9:28:39 PM >

(in reply to Devonport)

Post #: 7

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/25/2016 9:35:59 PM

Devonport

Posts: 167
Joined: 4/1/2010
Status: offline

Thanks bomccarthy and Chuck B. Very helpful. Have decided on Bootcamp solution and off to buy iMac tomorrow. Your detailed feedback very much appreciated.

(in reply to RealChuckB)

Post #: 8

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/26/2016 8:27:38 AM

soeren01

Posts: 393
Joined: 6/25/2004
From: Bayern
Status: offline

I have played both games inside a virtual machine on an Mac. Both VMware Player and VirtualBox work well.

_____________________________

soeren01, formerly known as Soeren
CoG FoF
PacWar WIR BoB BTR UV WITP WITE WITW

(in reply to Devonport)

Post #: 9

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/26/2016 8:24:47 PM

RealChuckB

Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: soeren01

I have played both games inside a virtual machine on an Mac. Both VMware Player and VirtualBox work well.

Thanks, soeren01 for the feedback - that it what I thought, both games are not very demanding when it comes to hardware (with maybe the exception of scrolling through the large map) and the virtual machines should be sufficient to play these games reasonably well

(in reply to soeren01)

Post #: 10

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/29/2016 6:37:00 AM

Steely Glint

Posts: 580
Joined: 9/23/2003
Status: offline

I run Windows 10 on very different six machines, with zero performance issues and zero crashes. It is absolutely the best version of Windows ever.

Just make sure it's a clean install and not an upgrade, and follow the steps at this website to protect your privacy:

https://fix10.isleaked.com

and then it's all good.

_____________________________

�It was a war of snap judgments and binary results�shoot or don�t, live or die.�

Wargamer since 1967. Matrix customer since 2003.

(in reply to RealChuckB)

Post #: 11

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/29/2016 6:38:44 AM

Steely Glint

Posts: 580
Joined: 9/23/2003
Status: offline

My wife, an IT professional, has used Bootcamp extensively and has nothing good to say about it whatsoever.

_____________________________

�It was a war of snap judgments and binary results�shoot or don�t, live or die.�

Wargamer since 1967. Matrix customer since 2003.

(in reply to Steely Glint)

Post #: 12

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 7/29/2016 6:58:03 AM

zakblood

Posts: 22687
Joined: 10/4/2012
Status: offline

couldn't agree with the 2 posts above more tbh, have more than a few tests pc's, no issues at all with clean installs, only issue ever have was a codec one, and that was a broken one caused by a 3rd party app, so not a windows fault either

(in reply to Steely Glint)

Post #: 13

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 8/1/2016 1:00:35 AM

ultradave

Posts: 1355
Joined: 8/20/2013
Status: offline

For another viewpoint, I've used Parallels Desktop for many years on my MacBook Pro. The only games it can't handle seem to be the very graphic intensive first person shooters, but I have a new MacBook Pro now so even that may be ok. I had W7 and upgraded to W10 with no problem at all. Everything runs fine. I run WitE, WitW, C:MANO, Flashpoint, and a few others that are unavailable in Mac format.

_____________________________

----------------
Dave A.
"When the Boogeyman goes to sleep he checks his closet for paratroopers"

(in reply to zakblood)

Post #: 14

RE: Computer Help/Advice - 8/1/2016 2:58:43 AM

RealChuckB

Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Steely Glint

My wife, an IT professional, has used Bootcamp extensively and has nothing good to say about it whatsoever.

Do you know what issues she has/sees? The good thing about Bootcamp is that it's basically running Windows on an Intel computer* using (more or less) standard hardware components. Once set up, it more or less is independent of anything Apple (I actually know people who exclusively use Bootcamp on their Macbooks, mainly because the Apple hardware/build is superior to most other laptops on the market.)

*I think this is important to understand - while Apple used specific CPUs for a while for their computers and the OS and software had to be tailored to that, the current generation Apple hardware is rather standard: Intel CPU, integrated Intel video card or AMD/nvidia video cards etc. so in that sense, the core technology is very similar (or even the same) as the one used in the hardware from Dell, HP, etc.

(in reply to Steely Glint)

Post #: 15